


Dog Walker [Portgas D. Ace X Female Reader]

by mossiepoo



Category: One Piece
Genre: F/M, Love Triangles, Romance, Romantic Comedy
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-28
Updated: 2020-06-28
Packaged: 2021-03-04 04:07:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 9,150
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24963502
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mossiepoo/pseuds/mossiepoo
Summary: Initially, I thought the was going to be a quick One shot- but I think it is going to turn into a cute mini story! This is a story about our most loving freckled face, as he meet's [y/n], the dog walker. The pictures do not belong to me, they belong to the rightful owners, and One Piece itself does belong to Echiro Oda. Just the story here belongs to me. NOTE: I DO have my stories posted on other writing platforms on my other accounts just to be safe. So these stories do belong to me.
Relationships: Portgas D. Ace/Reader
Comments: 1
Kudos: 14





	1. Trouble In Paradise

Ace had just finished a late night shift at the pub, call the Moby Dick. It was run by his father, Whitebeard and he had been working, alongside Marco who was the bartender, and Thatch who was the head chef naturally. So he had a rather exhausting night. But he was worried also, since well, he's been having a lot of long hours and he hasn't had time to recently walk his dog, which was starting to agitate him, especially since this particular breed cross needed to be walked regularly, and more then the average dog as well.

He was worried, since the dog was a husky crossed with an Alaskan malamute, and Sabo hadn't been kidding when he had warned Ace that they weren't the easiest of dog breeds, especially for first time dog owners. But Ace, being the big hearted man that he was, couldn't resist! After all, he had found the dog alone, and hungry when he had been throwing out the garbage at the Moby Dick when he had been working one day.

[Flashback to 4 months ago]

Ace had been lugging the garbage, his face scrunching up adorably yet, comedically in disgust when he had been stuck with taking out the garbage. At least it wasn't a super busy night, so he didn't have to run for it. But what had caught him by guard, as he had thrown the sack of garbage into the dumpster with his strength, he had heard whimpers. It had been mixed with a howl like sound, along with the whining as the freckled faced young man wondered where that was coming from.

"What the heck..?" He had muttered out, as his eyes had grew wide when seeing that there had been a big dog, panting heavily and staring up at Ace with scared, but hopeful eyes. The way it was panting, it was clear that the dog had been clearly dehydrated. What was even more fascinating was that it had one blue eye on the left, and a dark brown eye on the other.

"Hey little guy..." Ace had surprisingly, well if someone knew him well enough, unsurprisingly actually, kneeled down and slowly reached out a hand towards the likely scared dog. It was huge! At least it must've weighed almost 100 pounds, but no where overweight. In fact, it looked like it had seen better days, indicating that it likely hadn't eaten in a while. The dog, shockingly enough, after a short moment, had approached the freckled male, nudging Ace's hand with it's nose, as Ace's heart had melted, having an internal fan girl moment.

'So cute!' He had thought rather dorkishly and almost girlishly, fawning over the poor starving dog. Ace had also noticed that the dog didn't have a collar on it...so either that meant that it was a stray, or it had gotten lost and had no collar indicating it's owner, or lastly, it had been abandoned. To which, the tall man had stood up determined, as he had looked down at the rather hopeful looking arctic dog, as he had grinned petting it's head rather coolly.

"Don't worry lil' guy....or girl..." He had then ruined his suave moment, by having to kneel down and position himself oddly, just to get a good look at the gender of the dog. And he had his answer when he had confirmed himself that it was a he.

"Alright then, lil guy! I'll go sneak you some food, Thatch is the best chef around here, so you'll be well treated." Ace had exclaimed, before cutely rubbing his chin in thought, as he had looked down at the husky/malamute cross. It was clear that the dog had already wanted to follow the freckled man. Which had won him over once more, as Ace had decided to make a rather impulsive decision, before once again kneeling on one knee and staring into the beautiful dog's eyes.

"You know what? You're coming home with me. And your name is now Pyro." He had impulsively decided, not even bothering to think it through.

~

"Are you kidding me Ace?!" A motherly voice had scolded. Correction: Sabo's voice had scolded, but it may as well be a mother's voice. Because, in all honestly, despite the fact that the three brothers were troublesome, everyone knew that Sabo was the 'parent' of the troublesome trio. And the voice of reason which was obvious.

"Oh common man! I couldn't leave him out there! And besides! look at these cute wittle eyes~" Ace had cooed out the last part, in a baby voice, like one that every parent would use with their child. In this case, a dog, which wasn't that abnormal. But of course, Sabo would be laughing and mocking the poor brunette, had he not been stressing about the fact Ace had impulsively brought a dog. He knew Luffy was bad but sometimes, Ace can be worse. Just sometimes. But Sabo had to resist the dog's beautiful puppy eyes, as he had clenched his fists in resistance.

'Must resist puppy eyes!' He kept chanting in his head, as he had threw his hands in the air, as Ace had kept coddling the happy snow dog.

"But Ace! Don't you see how much work a dog is? Especially with a dog like that! They're not easy." Sabo had pointed out, to which the tall brunette had merely ignored him, as he had kept rubbing his chin to which the dog was living in glory for.

"Wait till' Luffy comes home tomorrow from his sleepover with his friends... he's gonna love you!" Ace had merely responded seeming to not acknowledge poor Sabo, to which the blonde had groaned in defeat, as he threw his hands up in the air dramatically.

"Fine! You win! But you better know what you're getting into bro. Because with a dog with his energy, and the fact that you have no experience owning a pet, you better be prepared." Sabo had huffed, before going to his room to go clean it.

Pyro had whimpered in response, looking at the direction that Sabo had walked into. Probably upset that Sabo didn't seem to be interested at the moment in him. Ace had looked down at the dog, shaking his head in response, before kissing Pyro's head adorably.

"Awww don't worry big guy. Sabo's just an old woman sometimes. He's real nice, he's just being a worrywart right now." Ace had mocked, to which he had smirked some when hearing someone speak up.

"I heard that Ace." Sabo had called out flatly, to which the handsome freckled man had glanced back at Pyro, and snickered. He didn't know what he was going to get himself into.

[End Flashback]

Ace had been nervous to arrive home. When he had done his research, with the help of Marco, on Pyro's mix, Marco had guessed that he had been most likely a cross of the Siberian Husky and the Alaskan Malamute. Two troublesome breeds mixed together. Troublesome as in, they have so much energy to burn, that they need to live active lifestyles. Thankfully, initially, Ace was a very active man typically. And also, with Luffy around, he had the help. But also with Luffy, he was worried of losing the dog one day. He didn't want Pyro to have another traumatizing experience. Which is also what Marco had warned him about. Since rescuing a dog, especially since Ace had picked him up on the streets, they had no idea what traumatic experiences Pyro had went through. So they had to tread extra carefully.

So why was he nervous of arriving home?

Because lately, Luffy had actually landed a job, believe it or not. Though it was a job where he had been working at a pizza shop, which he had gotten through the help of Sanji. And no, Luffy did not make the pizza's thankfully. He would be the fool that would have to wear the embarrassing costume and stand outside all day, whilst holding up a sign promoting a ridiculously cheap deal. Only Luffy would want to wear a stupid looking costume in the shape of a pizza slice.

So Luffy had been tending to Pyro a lot less, and Sabo always worked in the day time, and sometimes comes home late with long hours. And so, Pyro hadn't been getting as much active attention, and with that, Ace would come home to a mess in the house. It's because Pyro was acting out, because of frustrated pent up energy due to the lack of activity. So of course, when he had came home, Ace had looked tired since it was 3 am, and groaned when seeing that the house looked...

Clean?

He had been expecting to come to a mess, but instead, he had came across, Sabo, who had looked incredibly exhausted and tired, and he had been sitting on the couch, with Pyro fast asleep on his bed that Sabo had actually bought the big guy.

"...I cleaned the mess when I came home. I finished early today." The hard working blonde had muttered out, as his first words. He had looked tired, and stressed, but he had looked at Ace with a firm stare, as Ace had gulped a bit. He was in big shit, wasn't he.

"Sabo... I-"

"You need to fix this Ace. You had promised, and you knew how we were getting busy man. I love Pyro, but at the same time, we gotta be rational. I had warned you that we can't afford to take care of a-"

"I don't want to hear it Sabo!" Ace had snapped, before he had softened his gaze, and let out a sigh, turning his head away, as neither had noticed Pyro opening one blue eye and quietly watching the two older brothers.

"You didn't see him...the way I saw him when he was scared, and alone." Ace had muttered out, as he had turned his head to look at Sabo with an intense stare.

"Clearly he's been alone, and I made a promise that day that he would never feel alone again." The man responded, with his deep voice, as Sabo had sighed. He wasn't there, but Sabo knew that deep down, if it had been the other way around, the blonde knew that he likely would've struggled to fight to not cave in himself. But also, the blonde was the biggest voice of reason amongst the three. Even though, many times he too had his moments of recklessness, but this time that wasn't him this time.

"I'm not going to abandon him so that he can be all alone Sabo!" Ace had barked out, no pun intended. As the dog had now been silently watching the two. Even though he wasn't a human to understand the language, Pyro somehow felt that Ace had been fighting for him..and it almost had looked like the dog's eyes had started to glaze a bit, like how a person's would before they start to tear up or cry. But, dog's can't cry, right? Let alone understand humans to that extent right?

"Okay okay Ace. Well, lucky for you, I had thought of a solution that may help." Sabo had proposed, as Ace had paused to glance over at the blonde in curiosity, cooling down from his rush of feelings. It was clear that Ace loves this dog so much.

"Robin had actually told me about this. You know Nami right? Well, Robin had gotten the contact info from Nami, and as you know Nami's dog right?" He had continued, as Ace had kept nodding his head, listening eagerly. He remembered her dog. It was a girl, and she was a little toy poodle. Sure she was cute, but in Ace's eyes, she wasn't on Pyro's level, he thought childishly to himself.

"Yeah? What about it?" Ace had continued, as Sabo had turned to look at Pyro, who was now asleep with his eyes closed once more.

"Well, Nami had been using this dog walker at times whenever she was busy. And her rates are pretty good too, especially for Nami to be going to her." Sabo had added on, as Ace had sweated. Leave it to Nami to bargain with everything, yet try to charge people a ridiculous fee or interest for something simple as asking her for advice.

"Anything, I'll try her. Its worth investing, especially since Pyro deserves the best. But I wanna see for myself, and make sure that she's legit. I don't want anyone just messin' around with my little fire fist." He had stated, having already given the cute dog a nickname which was really cute and ironic. Since Ace was labelled as a hot head at times. So it matched.

"Good! Cause' I already made arrangements for you to meet her tomorrow! Since you have the day off tomorrow, she's coming over for 1 pm." Sabo had cheerily exclaimed, as Ace's face dropped in shock, as his eyes had widened like saucers. He definitely didn't expect that to happen fast, but it looks like he's got no choice. He was going to be meeting this dog walker, and he had hoped this would solve his dilemma.


	2. Meeting the Dog Walker

"I hope she knows what she's doing...I won't just let anyone touch you buddy..." Ace had muttered out, kneeling down as he had filled up Pyro's water bowl, as the dog had been panting happily. Pyro was always happy whenever Ace had the day off. It meant that he usually got to see him all day! Today was the day that Ace and Pyro were going to be meeting the dog walker, and Ace was a touch nervous. He was basically trusting a complete stranger to watch his dog. Not just watch really, but walk him.

That was something that wouldn't be easy for everyone, Ace had assumed. It's like trusting a random babysitter to watch over your child, right? Well it's the same thing. What about if this person can't handle Pyro's weight? He was a rather tall dog, and had put on some rightfully earned pounds ever since he had been taken in by Ace, since he had been a bit underweight due to starvation.

Hell even Luffy gets dragged by Pyro whenever Pyro had felt like doing the dragging. Then again, Luffy was never bothered by it, which bothered Ace greatly, since he was scared any day now Luffy may one day loose his precious baby.

Sabo had already left for work, and Luffy had not too long ago left as well to start his shift at the pizza shop he worked at. So it was just him and Pyro alone, as Ace had looked down at the time on his phone, as it was almost time.

As if fate had read his mind, he had blinked when the door bell had rung. They all lived in a small but homely house. They were able to afford the house, with all three of them working, especially with Luffy finally being able to land a job. All this time, Luffy struggled to get a job, unsurprisingly... until Sanji had pulled through. Ace was going to go to pops but it wasn't needed.

With brisk steps, the reckless man had opened the door, and he had felt time stopping the moment he had laid eyes on the creature standing in front of the door, with the most stunning smile he's ever seen on a person before.

"Are you.... Ace Portgas?" Her sweet voice had chanted out. He had looked over at her stunning [h/t] [h/c] hair, then had looked at her beautiful [s/c] skin, to the way her [e/c] eyes were seeming to shine the more he had looked into her eyes. She wasn't wearing clothes that were over the top, just a simple red t-shirt with some cute high waisted jean shorts, which had accentuated the curves on her body, as his eyes had went down to her [s/c] legs.

"Uh...Mr..." The woman had trailed off, unsure what to say to the initially speechless man, as he had snapped out of it, before rapidly shaking his head some. He had then produced that classic handsome confident smirk of his, as he had spoke up.

"My apologies... but yes that's me. Just call me Ace." He had winked, as the young woman had blushed a bit, but let out a small giggle.

'Ah! How cute was that!' He couldn't help but girlishly swoon over her, as she had smiled and tucked some of her hair behind her ear.

"Great! Well... I'm [y/n] and I'm here to meet you and your awesome dog!" She had cheerily responded, making him beam. As she had held out a hand to him, ready to shake his hand, the freckled man had looked down at it and had taken it.

But instead of taking his hand, he had instead gently, but swiftly pulled her hand upwards towards his face, and laid a kiss on the back of it, causing the woman to blush as [y/n] wasn't sure what to say, her heart racing a bit faster as his dark gaze had glazed over at her, as she bit her lips slightly.

"Well...I'm excited for this. I can't wait for you to meet my number one man." Ace had stated, before he had let go of her hand, and smirked seeing how much of a flustered mess [y/n] had seemed to be. Grinning smugly to himself, Ace had gestured for her to follow him into her home, glad now more then ever Sabo had cleaned up the house last night.

Closing the door behind him, the brunette had led the [h/c] beauty over to where Pyro had been just finishing up drinking some water from his bowl. But he had turned around, when sensing that another new presence was in the house, as he had turned around and eagerly ran over to [y/n] who's eyes had widened a bit.

"Shoot! Pyro careful!" Ace had called out, a bit nervous since he knew that the cross breed had so much energy, and Pyro was no exception. He didn't want Pyro to accidentally hurt [y/n] by jumping on her, or knocking her over since he tends to get a bit too excited.

But instead of freaking out, [y/n] had merely kneeled down, and started to laugh softly, as she had instantly welcomed the happy dog into her arms. Ace couldn't help but melt at the sight, but of course he wasn't going to blab that out to anyone, any time soon.

"Aw why hello~! Such a beautiful baby you are... !" The girl had exclaimed, speaking to the dog, as the dog had started to howl as if he was trying to talk. A typical husky/malamute thing instead of them really barking, they would howl in a way as if they would try to talk. Pyro was no exception to that case.

Ace was glad that they had seemed to hit it off, since he had been worried about that. Sure, Pyro wasn't a mean dog, but sometimes, his energy and excitement tended to stray people away whenever he would walk him.

"What a beautiful dog...! How long have you had him for?" [y/n] had asked him curiously, as now Pyro had been laying down on his side, as she had been scratching his chin vigorously, instantly having spotted that is a sweet spot for him. Needless to say, Ace was impressed.

And no, not because he had found her extremely attractive.

"I uh...it's been just over 4 months or so. I actually found him all alone, looking for food one night, out back where I worked.." He had trailed off, as [y/n] had beamed, as she had been now rubbing Pyro all over, not minding the fact that he was shedding a lot on her clothes.

"Ah...sorry about that...he tends to shed a lot.." Ace had trailed off, looking guilty, realizing that he's been shedding more lately. It was the season, and he had to remind himself to comb him more then usual. Usually Luffy loved to comb Pyro, and believe it or not he was good at it. Pyro always loved the way Luffy would comb him.

"No no! It's fine! I expected as much. After all, it's a husky/malamute cross." She had responded as Ace had been surprised, and impressed that she had been able to instantly guess the breed.

"Wow, you really know a lot about dogs huh." Ace had trailed off, a dreamy smile crossing hie lips without realizing, to which the [h/c] haired girl had blushed a bit, and smiled shyly nodding her head.

"Aw thanks! It's my dream to open up a doggy daycare some day." She had blabbed, to which Ace's heart started to melt a bit. She wasn't just a pretty face, she also had a big heart, if she wants to open up a place to care for dogs. It was drawing him even more to her.

"That's such a sweet dream." He almost purred out, to which, [y/n] had started to heat up, as she had smiled almost shyly back at Ace, before speaking up.

"Thanks! But I must say, you have a great heart. Taking a dog out of the streets. Many people wouldn't have. At most they would've taken the dog to a shelter, which is great, since it's not easy committing to a dog. Dog's are a lot of work. But I admire that you had decided to take that on." She had responded, to which Ace had blushed. He had looked almost bashful, as he waved a hand carelessly.

"Aw shucks... it was nothing really..."

"I'm serious! It is a lot of work! When I had gotten my dog, my dog was also a rescue. He was just over a year old, a golden retriever. But he had a lot of damage done to him. He had been found abandoned on the road one day, and I had been warned that he's afraid of males. It sounds like it may have been due to abuse." [y/n] had sadly responded to which, Ace's eyes had widened in shock.

He hadn't been around much dogs, so that was extremely heart breaking to hear. He was..abandoned...? And maybe worse..? He shuddered at the thought to think of what that poor dog may have went through.

He had glanced over at a happy and relaxed Pyro, wondering if Pyro had went through anything bad? Ace's blood boiled protectively at the thought that someone may have had the audacity to even do anything bad to his baby.

The thought made his blood boil. If he had powers, he would've most likely bursted into flames and torched up the house alive. That's how much his rage was filling in. He hadn't known that there were actual sickos that would do such terrible things to these poor creatures.

"That's...so terrible to hear." Ace had admitted, sounding rather empathetic before he had continued on.

"Well, that goes to show what an amazing person you are, [y/n] for giving that dog a second chance at a good life. And I may have only known you for not even ten minutes, but I know enough to know that he's in great hands." Ace had gotten out, followed by a slick smile to end his words, to which [y/n] had blushed at his flattering words, rubbing the back of her head with one hand.

"Aw shucks...you're to sweet... But you're one to talk! Look at how you had taken in Pyro without a second thought! That's what I call respect. You didn't even go to a shelter, so you had no idea what the story with yours may be! That's brave. Its not easy. And I can see how much this lil guy loves you so much." She had cooed out the last part, whilst proceeding to rapidly pet Pyro everywhere, who had started to howl with happiness from the affection.

Ace's heart drumming fast from her touching words, since he had never thought of it like that. Everyone, well mostly everyone had been concerned about how reckless he had been to do such a thing, for that exact reason. But here [y/n] was, praising him for it instead. He felt so happy to hear those words, but he didn't want to show how emotional he was on the inside. For a while there, he was actually starting to feel like a terrible dog owner, with everything that's been happening.

But [y/n]'s words had brought hope for him, and some new found confidence.

He had looked at the happy sight of her and Pyro, and had to resist taking a picture of how cute it was. He didn't want to creep her out after all.

"A-Any ways Ace..." [y/n] had brought up a small blush on her cheeks, as she had slowed down on her petting, and was now just calmly petting Pyro, which was starting to relax the hyperactive snow dog as she had beamed at him with eagerness.

"How bout' we go for a test walk? I'll be walking Pyro, and of course you'll be there with me. It's not the same as me walking him alone, but it's just to let you feel more comfortable with having me walk him. And of course with Pyro, so you're confident in my abilities to walk your baby." She had stated, to which he had perked up. This had almost sounded like a date.

Well, he knew he wasn't a real date, since [y/n] was just doing her job. This was procedure after all, but the dog dad had beamed before giving a charming smile.

"Sure that sounds good. I'm ready to go now." He had eagerly responded, as he had excused himself to go get Pyro's leash and some poo bags.

[y/n] had watched him go, with a small blush on her cheeks, as it was clear that she had found him extremely handsome. Pyro, despite being a dog in his own world seemingly, had kept glancing back and forth between the two, with an unreadable look. But it was a happy, mischievous look, as if he had been concocting a plan of his own.


	3. The 'Date'

"Wow.... for someone of your size, you sure can handle a huge dog like Pyro." An impressed Ace had muttered out in shock, as he had glanced at [y/n], as she had been easily holding onto the leash as Pyro was eagerly trying to pull and sniff. He was always excitable when he would go on a walk, Ace had noticed.

"I'm used to it. You should see my Golden! Sure he may not be as big as Pyro, but for a Golden, everyone has said that he's the tallest Golden Retriever they've ever seen." [y/n] had responded, and also she's used to being around other dogs. But she was still fairly new to the dog walking game, so professionally, her clientelle isn't strong...yet.

"I actually would love to meet him sometime!...Thats if, he's okay with it." Ace had trailed off at the end, as he had remembered when [y/n] had mentioned briefly that her dog had seemed to have a fear of men. So he wasn't sure if that would ever happen. But he genuinely would love to meet her dog, and also, perhaps, take that as a chance to bond with [y/n] more.

The [h/c] haired girl had smiled softly as she had shifted her eyes some since she would love that. But, she was nervous of her dog not being ready for it.

"I would love that. I hope one day I can introduce you to him. Stanley's an amazing friend." She had added, as Ace had found out the name of the dog. But he had also admired how she openly called him a friend- he can really see her love for dogs and her dog.

"You know..." He had trailed off, as they had paused as [y/n] held the leash as she had watched Pyro who had started to take a leak on a stop sign post, which wasn't nothing odd. It was a typical dominance thing, especially in male dogs in particular.

"I really am glad that my brother had connected me to you. It makes me comfortable trusting Pyro with you. You put your heart into this, which I admire." He had suavely got out, but meant it with all his heart, as the shorter [h/c] headed woman had blushed, feeling her heart starting to drum fast. Why was it reacting like that?

"I'm glad Ace! Between you and I, so far, I think Pyro is my favourite client." [y/n] had playfully, but honestly admitted with a giggle, as she had watched Pyro sniffing the grass some, doing his day to day dog thing. She had been slightly startled, when she had felt Ace shift closer to her, as he had stared down into her gorgeous [e/c] eyes, causing her heart to thump faster.

"I do hope that includes me being your favourite as well..?" He had almost purred out, as he couldn't help but try to flirt at that moment, which had made [y/n] widen her eyes, not having expected him to state that so boldly. Though, she didn't have a chance to even respond to it, as her having been caught off guard, she hadn't expected suddenly for Pyro to abruptly pull her away as he had been seeming to chase after something.

Ace's eyes had widened, his whole face going into shock as he had panicked, and tried to chase after his dog, who had his eyes set on a squirrel who had managed to quickly retreat high up into a tree not too far from there.

"PYRO!!" He had yelled, as [y/n] had winced, when she had tripped and stumbled over a huge rock that she normally would've been able to dodge, but with Pyro dragging her along, she had fell on her ankle, and let out a cry in pain when feeling like she hurt herself.

"[y/n]!" Ace had cried out, freaked out, wondering if she was alright. She had been on the ground, holding onto her left foot, as she had winced when any pressure was put on it.

"My ankle... I think I sprained it..." She groaned, as Ace had panicked. He had been afraid that because of his dog, she had been hurt. He had been panicked on what to do, as he had managed to pull Pyro back in with his strong arms, as he had now gotten that situation under control.

"Hold on [y/n].... lemme call for help." Ace had panicked, before deciding to call Marco for help. Thankfully, Marco was good with this, as he used to work part time in a hospital. So maybe he would know what to do thankfully.

~

"It's just a sprain. Ice it up, and use a compression pad to help with the swelling. And try to take it easy on it for the next few days. Feel free to take my number from Ace if you have any further questions." Marco had responded, as he had wrapped up her ankle as Ace had watched over, concerned and felt horribly guilty. Even though [y/n] had kept trying to reassure him that it wasn't his fault, he still felt horrible because he didn't have a better control of handling Pyro's high energy.

"Thank you so much. I'll try my best to follow doctor's orders." She had smiled, as he had chuckled in response, playing with his glasses as Ace had frowned a bit. Was she flirting with him? He had glanced over, and saw a smile on Marco's face which had looked too suspicious for his own good... he better not be.

"Here. Why don't I drop you off, so that you won't have to walk on it." Marco had coolly offered, as [y/n]'s eyes had widened.

"O-Oh I would feel bad! You don't have to-"

"Nonsense! I can't let a pretty little lady like yourself walk on a bad foot." Marco had proclaimed, as Ace had glared at Marco fiercely. If he had powers, Marco would've likely bursted into flames by now. [y/n] blushing a bit, flattered by his quick compliment there, before she had spoken up.

"If you really want...I'd appreciate it. As long as it's not trouble." She had added at the last part, causing Marco to smirk a bit.

"Great. Sounds like a plan. Ace you can go-"

"I'm coming with you too. I'm going to help [y/n] inside, since it's the least I can do after everything." Ace had intercepted, as [y/n] had blushed, and shook her head as she winced from her ankle.

"No you don't have to Ace! I'll be okay don't worry." She had protested, but Ace had held up a hand to stop her as he shook his head rapidly. [y/n] couldn't help but find him adorable at this moment, despite the pain she was going through.

"No. It's not a request, I am going to be helping you. You don't have a problem with Pyro being in the car...right buddy?" Ace had slowly stated, sending a knowing look to Marco, who had frowned when seeing how Ace had been looking at him. So that's how its going to be huh.

"Yeah.. is that okay Marco?" [y/n] had asked, looking at Marco with concern as her bright [e/c] eyes had been staring at him.

Marco had tried to not appear tense, but internally, he had groaned. Since he had just had his car cleaned last week, and didn't even have any covers for Pyro to sit on. But he didn't want to be the douchebag that would say no like that.

"Of course I do yoi. How could I say no to that." He had gotten out with a smile, as [y/n] had smiled with glee, whilst Ace had frowned heavily. He did not like the way Marco had seemed to be a bit too friendly with [y/n] there. Whilst he had been trying to get Pyro to come to the car, Ace's eyes had widened when seeing Marco being kind enough to lend [y/n] a hand, as he had held onto her by the shoulders whilst being her support for her, as he had led her into the front seat of the car, much to Ace's dismay.

"Why thank you~!" She had giggled, as Marco had winked at her behind his glasses, before getting into the front seat of his Subaru STI as Ace had grumbled bitterly.

He had competition, and he wasn't going to let [y/n] be swayed by old fart phoenix.


	4. Stanley

"Well. Here we are." Marco had drawled out, as he had one hand on the steering wheel, and another hand on the gearstick. They had pulled up in front of an apartment building complex, as it had seemed that [y/n] had lived in an apartment.

"Too bad I couldn't show you what this baby can do [y/n], I didn't want to risk hurting your leg." Marco had mentioned coolly, as [y/n] had smiled and shook her head cutely. Ace watching from the back rather irritated, whilst Pyro had been panting rather happily, and heavily into his face, as Ace's face had contorted into one of pain.

'Geez boy...why does your breath have to smell so bad...' He had thought in agony, whilst having to watch Marco butter up to [y/n].

"No worries man! It's no biggie, your car is pretty sick." [y/n] had casually mentioned, despite having an injured ankle, and she had started to speak a bit more differently then before, Ace had noticed. She was seeming more comfortable. Well, it's not like she had been shy, but, of course she probably maintained a certain level of watching how she comes across, since he was a customer in the end of the day, and someone they both didn't know well.

But he had been amused at how she had talked, since she had talked almost like she was trying to talk to a guy, like a guy. Despite the fact he was jealous that she was paying attention to Marco's car. Well, he would've seemed cooler had he not had his license suspended recently!

Which was another story for another time.

"Aw thanks sweet heart. Perhaps, maybe once you heal up, I can take you out on a ride on this baby, show you how she purrs." He had gotten out, almost giving a purr in the end of his words, as [y/n] had blinked a few times. It was hard to tell what she was thinking, as Ace had glared daggers at the smug and confident blonde.

"That sounds awesome! I would love to go with you and Ace on a real ride perhaps one day!" She had exclaimed, as Marco's smug look had fallen whilst Ace's grin had widened, as he had held back from bursting out into laughter.

"Anyways man.... I'm going to bring [y/n] in. I already told Sabo that you would bring back Pyro to our place." Ace had stated, not even giving Marco a chance to really consent to that, as Marco's eyes had narrowed, as he had now started to see what Ace was up to. But he had glanced back at [y/n], who had been making cute faces at a happy Pyro, had sighed and rubbed his temples.

"...Sure, yoi. I'll let you know when he's dropped off him. Take care [y/n]." He had suddenly stated, looking into the blushing girl's eyes as he had taken her hand and placed a gentle kiss on the back of it, causing her eyes to widen.

"Tch." Ace had almost scoffed, before he had hugged Pyro as he had stared into his beautiful baby's eyes.

"I'll be back buddy okay? So don't worry, papa Ace will come back to you." He had ruffled Pyro's head, as [y/n] had beamed over at Ace, as she felt her heart melting on the inside. She had smiled, as she had stood up slowly, as Marco watched to make sure she was okay, as she had a limp. [y/n] sighed, since she was able to stand, but widened her eyes when she thought too soon and was about to stumble.

"Oi!-" Marco gasped, about to step out but she had been caught into someone's strong tattooed arms, as [y/n] had widened her eyes, looking up into dark eyes as she had blushed, holding onto him instantly.

"Wow..! My hero!" She had cooed out, as Ace had smirked looking down at her smugly. Enjoying this moment way too much then he should be. And it helped when seeing how annoyed Marco had looked too.

"We got this man. You can go buddy." Ace had smirked, smugly at Marco who had frowned a bit, and rolled his eyes at the younger man's childish behaviour, as he had drove off. Ace had stood for a moment, before looking down at [y/n] with a soft smile, as she had felt kind of shy in this position.

"You okay [y/n]? It's okay, I got you." He had reassured, as she felt her heart race from his words. Why does her heart keep racing like this for this man? She had just met him today a couple hours ago for crying out loud!

"Alright....so, what is your floor and door number?" Ace had asked, whilst managing to swiftly open the door easily, whilst still managing to hold onto [y/n]. He really was strong, [y/n] had noticed, impressed as she could feel the muscles on various parts of his body that she had been leaning against. She hadn't been paying attention earlier, or well she had tried to not pay attention, but it was hard to not notice it now.

"It's...506." She had responded, almost dazed, as she had managed to thankfully reach for the pocket of her shorts herself from the front, as she had her keys there. She had handed them to Ace, once he had reached their door, as he was still carrying her in her arms like some princess.

After a few moments of a quiet struggle, Ace had managed to finally get the door open, as he had looked around the house. It was actually shockingly a touch messy, here and there. [y/n] had blushed, kind of embarrassed that her habits were starting to show through. Her place clearly showed some creativity, but also she had quite a bit of things.

"Nice place." He complimented, before gently placing [y/n] on the couch. She had blushed, about to say something but widened her eyes when hearing eager footsteps running towards them from her bedroom, as she knew who it was. Oh crap, she had totally forgotten about Stanley's fear of men for a moment, as she had panicked.

"Oh no Stanley!" She had gasped, worried and nervous for her dog, as Ace's eyes had widened in realization, once again remembering when [y/n] had mentioned that he had a history of being afraid of males, especially men.

"Oh no," He had whispered out, turning around alarmed to see Stanley eagerly running to her. But the tall golden retriever had paused, when seeing that Ace had been standing by the couch, after he had laid down [y/n] on it, as Ace had looked cautiously at Stanley, not wanting to trigger him in any way or sense. But instead, he had slowly kneeled down, his eyes never leaving the cautious retriever's gaze, as the dog hadn't moved an inch from his spot.

"Ace no..!" [y/n] had tried to stop him, as Ace had ignored her. Call it the reckless side in him, and as well as the stubborn. [y/n] had watched with fear, since she was nervous at how this would turn out. But to her shock, she had noticed that Stanley still hadn't moved from his spot. At this point, Stanley would've normally backed away and tried to hide almost from a male. But instead, he had started to sniff Ace's hand, which he had been now holding out.

Now the [h/c] haired girl had been watching in curiosity, as Ace hadn't broken his gaze from the retriever. He had slowly extended his muscular arm, his hand relaxed as he was holding it out for Stanley to smell, or do whatever he wanted with it.

He had hoped that it wouldn't be to bite it though.

Stanley had stared at the freckled faced man's hand, before he had shocked Ace, and [y/n] the most when he had proceeded forward, and had been walking towards Ace. Slowly, but still he was walking towards him, as Ace hadn't moved at all from his spot, trying his best to remain as still as possible.

"No way...!" The beauty on the couch had gasped, as Ace had bursted into a smile, as Stanley had instantly ran into Ace's arms, as he had sat there, trying to push his head onto Ace's hands wanting the handsome man to met him and give him attention, like how he normally would with [y/n] as Ace had laughed.

"You're a big boy aren't you buddy!" Ace had laughed, as he had now started to loosen up, giving in and was heavily petting Stanley in all the right places, as now Stanley had been laying on the floor on his side, looking up at Ace comedically and adorably showing that he was clearly enjoying the attention. Whilst this moment had been going on between them, a stunned [y/n] had watched the scene in pure shock. This was her first time ever seeing Stanley getting along with a man. Now she can fully confirm that this man is beyond something special.

Just who was this man?


	5. Bring It On

"You had came home pretty late." An amused voice had drawled out, as Ace had been sucking on a popsicle that's been hanging from his mouth, as he had looked up as Sabo had came home with some groceries. Ace didn't respond really, grumbling whilst sucking on his popsicle like some grumpy child causing Sabo to chuckle in amusement at the sight. Right now, Ace was totally reminding Sabo of how he used to behave as a kid.

"None of your business." He grumpily responded, as he had eaten the popsicle, with the stick and all just like something Luffy would do. But it was hard to fight off the blush that had spread across his cheeks since he had been at [y/n]'s apartment till 2am, as they had seemed to lost track when he had helped her to her apartment last night.

Pyro had taken a sip of his water from his water bowl, as the husky cross had lazily sat on his bed, surprisingly tired. Ever since yesterday, it seemed that he had less energy. Maybe it was a good thing, since Pyro's been a lot more energetic to the point he had been frustrated with such pent up energy these past few months. It was nice to see him more relaxed for once.

"Touchy aren't we. Don't tell me, was it some girl?" Sabo had sighed out, as he had went to the kitchen to place the bags of groceries, and sighed as he had started to put them away right away.

"Okay common, she's not just 'some girl'!"

"Aha! I knew it! So it WAS a girl!" Sabo had declared, as Ace had cringed in realization, when realizing that Sabo had tricked him into revealing what had happened.

"You tricked me! You jerk!" Ace had childishly declared, stomping into the kitchen as Sabo had been still putting the items away. Ignoring the freckled faced man, Sabo had merely pointed at the remaining bags of groceries.

"Help me with this." Was all he said as Ace had fumed, but complied. He had started to help out Sabo, as Ace had puffed out his cheeks.

"It seems that Marco's got the hots for her as well too." He had confessed with an irritated scowl, as Sabo had paused briefly as he had closed the fridge.

"Oh, really now? How do you guys know her?" Sabo had asked curiously, wondering just who this mystery girl was now. Ace had shifted cutely from side to side, causing Sabo to frown a bit. He knew that the brunette tended to do that whenever he had something to hide.

"Tell me." Sabo had now demanded, groaning wondering what sort of nonsense as his hot blooded brother gotten himself into.

"Alright alright! It's [y/n], the dog walker okay?!" Ace had abruptly declared, pouting in annoyance at having to have admitted that, as Sabo's eyes had widened in response to his confession. As he had proceeded to groaning, as he had slapped his own head.

"Ace! Common! Really? I don't want you messing this up!" Sabo had sighed out, since from the sounds of it, [y/n] was needed for the Pyro situation.

"Okay okay I know that man geez! But I think I'm really starting to like her..!" Ace had begged, silently pleading for Sabo to help out a brother. Or well at least, be okay with all of this. The blonde man had frowned, and rubbed his temples. Ace was a trouble maker, but he knew that he had a big heart as well too.

"Well, I'm not going to argue with you on this. But I'm not sure really what I can do to prevent Marco from going after her. Why don't you talk to him about it?" Sabo had suggested, since Ace and Marco were pretty close well. They knew each other for many years and were like family. Marco would understand, right?

Ace wasn't sure what to think about that. Since that prideful side in him didn't want to stoop that low to actually ask Marco to back off. He had felt pathetic doing that! It will make it seem like he is actually threatened by Marco or something! And Ace did NOT agree with that. He didn't want to appear stupid and pathetic by asking Marco to back down. But perhaps, he will make it known indirectly that he had already self proclaimed called dibs on [y/n] first. He did meet her after all. And he knew that they had more in common then she would with that pineapple head!

"Tch. I don't know about that. But I'll make sure he gets the message that I had seen [y/n] first." He had scoffed as Sabo had sighed, shaking his head.

"It's not like a toy, where you can call dibs on her like that Ace." He had sighed, as Ace had merely stuck out his tongue childishly as his answer to Sabo.

~

It was late Monday afternoon, as it was getting closer to evening. Ace had a couple more hours left of his shift then he would get home to Pyro. He had just finished serving the food to the rush of tables as rush hour had seemed to pass as they were now already happily eating, as he had chilled out by the kitchen. He had perked up when seeing his phone go off, indicating to him that he had just received a text. He had beamed when seeing just who had texted him as he had grinned to himself. He had seen it was [y/n] as he had her name as his contact name, but next to her name was the emoji of a dog along with the emoji of paw prints which he thought was cute. Given that she was his dog walker and all.

Opening the text, he had looked with excitement to see it. As it had said,

From [y/n]🐶🐾 at 4:47 PM:

"Heya Acey! I had just left your house and Pyro had went to sleep before I did so. Our first day together went so awesome! You really raised a sweet boy, he's sweet just like you! Anyways, I know I'm rambling on, but yah, just wanted to let you know that the first day was a success! Also filled up his water bowl before leaving!😊"

His heart melted at her sweet words, as Ace couldn't help but think that she was the most perfect creature in the entire planet. She was so beautiful, but she had such a big heart, and she was extremely kind as well. What's there not to love about [y/n]?

With a grin, the eager male had started to furiously type away, trying to not make too many stumbles in his text as he wrote back to her.

"Hey! Wow, glad to hear it was a success, I'm glad Sabo found you to help out. You really came through, for Pyro and me.😚😎”

Message sent at 4:49PM.

He had been pleased, since maybe he can get to know her better if they can text each other. Maybe that way, they can really start to hang out more, and really get to know each other. Ace was grinning like a mad man, so delighted at the thought of it.

"Whachu so smily about buddy?" And Ace's moment of happiness just had to go downhill when hearing his voice.

"None of your business." Ace had scoffed out, rather defensively when seeing Marco having had a moment as well to rest as he had just finished making his rush of drinks. As Marco had been the main bartender for the pub that they ran together. Thatch had still been busy with the orders as he had been making some to-go as he had been the main chef.

"Woah woah. What's got you ticked off pal?" Marco had lazily asked, as it was a wonder if he knew about Ace's frustrations on Marco's interest in him? Marco just had to know! He was one of those really observant and wise guys right?

"Nothing. Just stay away from [y/n]. I had already called dibs on her, I saw her first after all." Ace had snapped, getting straight to the point. Sure he wasn't going to beg Marco to stay away, but at the same time he was going to make it known that Marco better not come in and mess around.

To which, the blonde haired man had arched a brow, before chuckling as he had been polishing one of the glasses he had just cleaned.

"This isn't highschool Ace. Last I knew, [y/n] is a capable woman of deciding who she would date. She doesn't need a childish boy to lay claim to her like she's some object." Marco had suavely came back with, sounding rather mature, as Ace had clenched his fists.

"You think you're some wise guy, huh? Just because you're ancient compared to me?" Ace had snapped, clearly offended whilst Marco had frowned at the mention of his age. He was a lot older then Ace, but it's not like [y/n] wasn't an adult.

"Bringing up my age only proves that you feel threatened by it. Why, scared that she would rather go for someone of more, experience and wisdom?" Marco had purred out, licking his lips, as Ace had wanted to chug his fists over at the blonde man's face.

"That's a joke. [y/n] doesn't want some crippled old pineapple. She would rather go for someone closer to her age." Ace had snapped back, almost nodding his head in affirmation to his own claim. Why would she want Marco? In a few years Marco was going to be all wrinkly and ancient!

"Tch. Statistics have shown that women typically are drawn towards men older than them."

"Yeah, older then them, but not old enough to be their parent!"

"Who knows, some girls have a kink for that."

"You're sick man." Ace had snapped, even though he was into the whole 'daddy' thing in bed, but he wasn't going to bring that up. Right now, he was holding himself back from jumping Marco, who seemed as relaxed as a cucumber whilst Ace was about to burst into flames.

"Bring it freckles. Let's see who woos [y/n] first. May the best man...or boy, win." Marco had proposed, referring to Ace as the obvious boy, as Ace had scowled in annoyance.

"Bring it you old pineapple."


End file.
